


Nam Puer

by Chandanista



Series: Hibernis Milite [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 15:30:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21121079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chandanista/pseuds/Chandanista
Summary: The Winter Soldier has a malfunction, a small blonde boy is at the center of it, and what theblyadis a hippogriff, anyhow?





	Nam Puer

The Soldier had completed his mission. It had taken two days longer than estimated, and he was tired. He moved slowly towards the contact point, a field several kilometers away, reluctant at the thought of the chair and the cold and the pain--

_Assets don’t feel._

Reluctantly, he picked up his pace.

***  


Wiltshire was beautiful tonight. Or, so the Soldier supposed he would think, had he been a person and therefore able to feel or care about such things as “beauty”. The stars were quite brilliant this far into the countryside, the half-moon emitting enough light to contend in brightness with its full self. The green hills and occasional trees cast odd shadows towards each other and the Soldier flowed from one to another with the proficiency of one who often conceals himself in the gloom. An occasional owl flew overhead or dove behind, presumably hunting prey that had been disturbed by his movements. 

The Soldier’s mind turned from owls hunting prey to the thoughts of the target he, himself, had eliminated in the picturesque village nearby. Some minor politician on the rise, his time ended before he had made a historic mark; no longer worth bothering to remember, really. The village, however, was a quaint place that belonged in a child’s tale: old-fashioned and too charming to be in the real world. 

The Soldier blinked, realizing he had taken several steps into the bright night in the wrong direction. He frowned and deliberately turned his back on the route to the settlement that had distracted him so fully, setting his course again to the rendezvous point. That had been odd. Quite odd.

***

For being an unfeeling asset, the Soldier was intensely irritated. He’d caught his feet turning the wrong direction several times, as pictures and thoughts that did NOT belong in his head threatened to overwhelm. The asset was malfunctioning, he needed to return to base so they could repair…whatever was wrong with him. Wandering mind and wandering feet prevented him from his destination however, and he was not certain what he could do to correct the issue long enough to reach his handlers.

A scream split the peaceful night.

And with that, the façade before him shattered.

He blinked, briefly wondering how he had malfunctioned so completely that he hadn’t seen the manor and grounds now before him. Looming and dark, the old house was quite large and blocked a significant portion of night sky. To one side a pretentiously ornamental gate was propped open, and further down was a small blonde boy facing a…He wasn’t sure what it was. It looked as though several animals had been conjoined in an unholy experiment.

The creature shrieked, and the Soldier knew that mice and politicians weren’t the only prey tonight. 

The pale child held his hands in front of his face to fight, futile as the effort would be. His blue-no, silver- _ shouldn’t they be blue? _ eyes widened in his peaky face-

_ That little guy who was too dumb to run away from a fight… _

“Hey,” the Soldier whispered, “pick on someone your own size!”

He moved. Not knowing what the creature was, nor its possible defenses, he pulled a throwing knife and aimed for the right eye. His other hand already had a gun, targeting the throat as he moved smoothly forward.

The fight was brief, the otherworldly beast unable to stand up to the well trained asset. When the job was done he looked at the pale, blonde child who was staring at him with…was that worship? It didn’t last long. A moment later the boy shook himself and stood straight, feigning derision. 

“What are you doing? Attacking a hippogriff with your Muggle weapons, it would have torn you apart if it had got past me. My accidental magic was poised to act at any moment. I had it covered.”

_ I had him on the ropes _

“I…know you did.” The Soldier’s voice was raspy, looking at the boy who reminded him of…someone… as two other men arrived in disarray. One had shoulder length black hair, the other a wave of blonde down his back, and both were alarmed.

“Draco! Are you hurt?” 

“What did you think you were _ doing _?” 

Content the boy…Draco… was now safe, the Soldier stepped to the corpse and began recovering his weaponry from the…what was it the child had said? Ah, hippogriff. He idly listened to Draco as he explained his foolish night wandering to the men, cleaning knives as the overly excited youngster relayed the details of the fight between monster and Muggle. Two sets of eyes, grey and black, turned to the rearmed Soldier. Uncomfortable with the scrutiny he looked away, plotting a course around the house and grounds, back on path to reunite with his handlers. The malfunction had progressed to laying out a ghost image over Draco of another pale, undersized blonde boy, and the fact he hadn’t seen the manor when he’d faced it for some time was quite worrying.

Or it would be, if assets could feel worry.

“Thank you,” the blonde man said, his long hair reflecting moonlight as he stood stiffly. “My son, he is foolish sometimes, and believes himself immortal.”

The Soldier’s eyes flitted uncomfortably to both men’s faces, wishing they would just go back to their home and leave him to end his mission. He didn’t want to eliminate the newly reunited family, but they had seen him, and every minute that passed in his presence was a danger to them. Their gratitude was unnerving. To thank him, an asset, as though he were human…The dark haired man started visibly, and the Soldier dropped his gaze. The two men muttered a moment, he heard only a few words; _“dangerous,” “despicable Muggles,” “gratitude” _ and then sent him a determined look. 

“Muggle. You’ve been obliviated far too many times to be useful. It is a wonder you can still stand, much less fight.” With a sneer, the dark haired man moved closer to the Soldier, black robes billowing dramatically over the grass. “You are…malfunctioning. You will come with us, _asset _, for repair.” The Soldier didn’t move, or react at all, puzzling through this turn of events. These men were handlers? How else would they recognize him as an asset in need of repair? Was the manor house before them the actual rendezvous point? Was the...was the chair in there?

“Imperio,” whispered the blonde man. Draco gasped. 

The Soldier relaxed.

“Ready to comply,” he stated, and followed the trio to the gate.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first thing I've written in years. It's a one shot I did over the weekend, but I'd like to write further on the AU. How long will the wizards keep a mistreated Muggle around? Can Barnes affect the wizarding war? Does having a competent Muggle around change Draco in his formative years? What happens to Howard Stark when the Asset isn't around to kill him and make it look like an accident? Will Severus ever be able to call him "James"?
> 
> "Nam Puer" is Latin "For a Child"


End file.
